Attorney General Eric Holder to Speak at Clark Atlanta for President’s Lecture Series

Clark Atlanta University (CAU) will welcome United States Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. as the orator for its inaugural President’s Lecture Series Feb. 7, at 11:30 a.m., in Davage Auditorium in Haven-Warren Hall on the main campus, 223 James P. Brawley Drive, S.W.

Holder will speak on “Rights and the American Polis – Prospects for the Future.” The event is free and open to the public.

“We are honored that Attorney General Holder would share his expertise, experience and vast knowledge of global and domestic affairs with the university and the broader community,” said CAU President Carlton E. Brown. “This promises to be a great day in the history of Clark Atlanta University.”

Holder was born in New York City and attended public schools there, graduating from Stuyvesant High School, before earning a B.A. in American history from Columbia College in 1973 and a J.D. degree from Columbia Law School in 1976.

Upon his graduation from law school, Holder joined the Department of Justice through the Attorney General’s Honors Program. He was assigned to the newly formed Public Integrity Section, where he investigated and prosecuted corruption involving officials in local, state and federal government. In 1988, President Reagan appointed him to serve as an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, where he presided over hundreds of criminal and civil trials during his five years on the bench.

In 1993, President Clinton appointed Judge Holder to serve as the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. In 1997, President Clinton appointed Holder to serve as Deputy Attorney General of the United States, a position that he held until the end of the Clinton administration. At the request of President George W. Bush, Holder served as Acting Attorney General in 2001, pending the confirmation of Attorney General John Ashcroft.

In July 2001, Holder joined the Washington, D.C. law firm of Covington & Burling as a partner in the firm’s litigation practice group, where he represented clients in complex civil and criminal cases as well as internal corporate investigations.

President Barack Obama nominated Holder to be Attorney General, and his nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate on Feb. 2, 2009. He began his service as the 82nd Attorney General the next day.

Holder’s many civic commitments have included service on the boards of Columbia University, the National Center for Victims of Crime, the Meyer Foundation and the Save the Children Foundation, among many others. He also served on the U.S. Sentencing Commission Ad Hoc Advisory Group.

He has received numerous awards in recognition of his professional and civic contributions, including the Department of Justice’s Special Achievement Award, the District of Columbia Bar Association’s Beatrice Rosenberg Award and George Washington University’s Martin Luther King Jr. Medal for Outstanding Service in Human Rights. The District of Columbia Bar Association recognized Holder as its Lawyer of the Year in 1997. Holder lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife, Dr. Sharon Malone, and their three children.